Ten objections cover the large majority of what your reps hear. What separates teams is not knowing them, it is having a response available under pressure without a two second pause first.
Each objection below has three parts: what the buyer actually says, why it really surfaces, and a scripted response with the reasoning attached. The reasoning matters more than the script, because a rep who understands why a response works can adapt it and a rep who memorised it cannot.
According to a HubSpot survey, around 44 percent of deals fall apart because objections are not handled well, while only about a quarter of reps say they feel confident in how they respond. That gap is the whole opportunity.
1. "It is too expensive."
Why it really surfaces. Almost never about the number. It is about a value case the buyer cannot yet defend internally.
It is too expensive
Price is fair to raise, and I would rather understand it than discount around it. When you say expensive, is it more than you budgeted, or more than you think the outcome is worth?
Splits budget from value, which need completely different responses.
2. "We already have something for this."
Why it really surfaces. The incumbent is doing part of the job. Your opening is the part it is not doing.
We already have something for this
Good, that means the problem is already on your radar. What does it handle well today, and where do you find yourself working around it?
Never attack the incumbent. Ask what it does not do and let the buyer name the gap.
3. "Send me some information."
Why it really surfaces. Usually a polite exit. Occasionally a real request from someone who has to brief a colleague.
Send me some information
Happy to. So I send the right thing rather than everything, who is going to read it, and what do they need to decide?
Tests whether it is a brush-off or a genuine internal step, without accusing them of either.
4. "Now is not a good time."
Why it really surfaces. A priority statement, not a calendar statement.
Now is not a good time
Understood. What is taking priority right now, and is this the kind of thing that gets easier or harder to fix while that runs?
Reframes timing as sequencing, which is a conversation you can still have.
5. "We do not have budget."
Why it really surfaces. Budget exists for problems that are quantified. It does not exist for problems that are not.
We do not have budget
That is common at this point in the year. If we set budget aside for a second, what would this need to be worth for you to go and ask for it?
Establishes the threshold, which tells you whether to keep going or stop.
6. "I need to talk to my team."
Why it really surfaces. True and incomplete. The question is who, and what they will object to.
I need to talk to my team
Makes sense. Who is in that conversation, and what is the part they are most likely to push back on? I would rather help you prepare for it than find out afterwards.
Turns you into a coach for their internal sell instead of waiting outside it.
7. "Your competitor is cheaper."
Why it really surfaces. A comparison of two numbers, not two things. Move it to scope.
Your competitor is cheaper
They may well be, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Can we compare what each one covers instead? That is usually where the gap actually is.
Conceding the price point buys credibility for the scope conversation.
8. "We tried something like this and it did not work."
Why it really surfaces. The most valuable objection you will get, because it tells you the exact failure to avoid.
We tried something like this and it did not work
That is worth understanding properly. What did you try, and where did it break down? I would rather know now than repeat it.
Ask for the post-mortem. Reps who skip this step usually re-sell the same failure.
9. "I am not the right person."
Why it really surfaces. Either true, or a deflection. Both are workable if you stay useful.
I am not the right person
No problem. Who owns this, and would it help if I gave you a two-line summary you could forward rather than making the introduction yourself?
Reduces the effort of the referral, which is what makes it actually happen.
10. "Just call me back next quarter."
Why it really surfaces. A soft no unless something concrete is attached to it.
Just call me back next quarter
I can do that. So the call is useful rather than a repeat of this one, what will be different next quarter?
Either produces a real trigger or exposes that there is not one, and both answers are useful.
The pattern underneath all ten
Read the ten responses together and the same four moves appear in every one. Listen without rushing to answer. Isolate what the objection actually is, because the stated one is often a proxy. Solve using the buyer's own context rather than a feature. Then test whether the concern is genuinely resolved before moving on.
That sequence is the framework, and it is covered in full with 24 practice drills in the objection handling guide. These ten scripts are the fast version.
The ten at a glance
- It is too expensive. Splits budget from value, which need completely different responses.
- We already have something for this. Never attack the incumbent. Ask what it does not do and let the buyer name the gap.
- Send me some information. Tests whether it is a brush-off or a genuine internal step, without accusing them of either.
- Now is not a good time. Reframes timing as sequencing, which is a conversation you can still have.
- We do not have budget. Establishes the threshold, which tells you whether to keep going or stop.
- I need to talk to my team. Turns you into a coach for their internal sell instead of waiting outside it.
- Your competitor is cheaper. Conceding the price point buys credibility for the scope conversation.
- We tried something like this and it did not work. Ask for the post-mortem. Reps who skip this step usually re-sell the same failure.
- I am not the right person. Reduces the effort of the referral, which is what makes it actually happen.
- Just call me back next quarter. Either produces a real trigger or exposes that there is not one, and both answers are useful.
Why scripts are the start and not the finish
A script read from a screen mid-call sounds exactly like a script read from a screen mid-call. The point of writing them down is to give a rep something to practice, not something to recite.
The measurable difference shows up in recovery speed. A rep who has run the price objection thirty times answers in half a second without a change in tone. A rep who read it once pauses, and buyers hear the pause. That is the whole reason repetition matters here rather than comprehension.
Reps can run each of these against a simulated buyer who pushes back differently every time, and on live calls, guidance can surface the right response the moment the objection lands rather than after the call is over.
For more on turning this into a weekly habit, see twelve coaching tips that actually stick and the product tour.